Sea change

We are a family with 2 children (aged 5 and 7), and are about to change our Laguna W reg 2.0 auto hatchback. We found the Laguna was spacious, comfortable easy-to-drive, but not 100% reliable. Yet it's been ok for the school run and the occasional UK based camping holiday. My aim is an upgrade to something that is more reliable, cheaper to run/service/tax, but it should also be good to drive, comfortable on long journeys with reasonable amount of space - we only do around 7k miles a year. Our budget is around £3k-£4k and for value and preference I have narrowed down our decision to 2 quite different cars. I have a weakness for the estate (and saloon) version of Rover 75 (CDT / CDTi) - I've always liked them from both a style and comfort point of view. I've heard that the auto diesel is reliable, and have read reviews till my eyes are bleary. I was worried by perhaps an issue with parts but as a version of the car is now being made in China I wonder if that fear is valid. My other choice would be for a Xsara Picasso 2.0 HDi. My wife prefers the looks and dimensions of the Picasso, although she would prefer an auto gearbox. We would hope to keep our next car for a minimum of 4/5 years. Any advice on the cars to sway a decision would be very gratefully received.

Asked on 17 July 2010 by RC, via email

Answered by Honest John
You can get a Citroen Xsara Picasso 2.0 petrol auto and it's actually very good:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/road-tests/citroen/citro...c Rover 75s are nice looking and potential classics, but not the most practical choice. Do not go near the 1.8 or 1.8T. The 2.0CDTI is better, and no DPF to worry about, but parts are getting more expensive to source for a car that hasn't been built in the UK since 2005. Your best bet might well be a Mondeo III estate.
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